I was in hell. The day of judgment had come while I was sleeping. That had to be it. There was no other explanation for the way I was feeling. My eyes were stuck together. My throat was burning something fierce. I couldn’t get an inventory of the rest of my body parts because my head was hurting. Pounding was more like it. Was I suffering for my sins already?

I could feel the sun shining on my face. Something about it felt odd. With effort, I peeled my eyes open. My lashes were clumped together from the day-old mascara. My eyes opened to a bright sunny room. I was lying on my left side, facing the window. 

Wait! Facing the window?

I bolted upright in bed. There was a large window to my left. TO. MY. LEFT. As of yesterday morning, my window was on the right side of the bed. I looked around, confused. Did I change furniture placement?

Though closed, the white drapes let in enough light for me to see the room properly.

And IT. WAS. NOT. MINE!!!

This had never happened to me before. Me, waking up in a strange room. I had made sure of it. Panic seized me. I frantically looked around. I was alone in the room which was a small relief. The bedding was a mess but upon quick inspection, it didn’t look like someone spent the night in here with me. 

Where was I?

I quickly stood up. But had to sit back down as the world tilted and swam before my eyes. Nausea threatened my already fraying nerves and I took deep breaths to calm myself. I tried to trace it back to last night. Things were hazy after we got to the bar. There was a blurry memory of a man. I took more deep breaths. I remember thinking he was extremely handsome…

Oh God! Did I leave the bar with him? Was I in his room? Did we….

A thud came from outside my room, making me jerk. I was a little afraid, to be honest. I had no idea what I was going to find on the other side of the closed door.

God! How do people do this? And often!!

It was extremely anxiety-inducing, from where I was standing.

With jerky movements, I made my way to the door and flung it open. I let a little squeak as a tall, big guy turned around suddenly to face me. My eyes widened. He was the guy from the bar. 

And he was truly handsome.

I shushed my unruly thoughts. Focus on the right things!

“Hi?”, I greeted him timidly but it came out more as a question.

He grunted in reply and massaged the back of his neck. My brow furrowed. 

“I…uh…slept on the couch”, he kind of blurted out. I looked at the couch. Sure enough, there was a pillow and quilt splayed there. 

“Thank you?”, this response also came out as a question. 

Stop being a moron! I chastised myself.

“Did we….uhhh”, I trailed off, jerking my thumb towards the bedroom behind me, hoping he would take the hint.

“Huh…”, he looked confused for a moment but then his expression cleared out, “ No, I don’t think so”, he scratched the back of his neck again. It was his nervous tick, I deduced.

“That’s reassuring. Why don't I remember anything from last night?”, I mumbled and looked around his apartment. It was an open floor concept with freshly painted walls and heavy oak furniture. It looked vaguely familiar. My eyebrows pinched. A terrifying thought came crashing to the forefront of my mind, “Wait! Was I drugged?!?”, I shrieked in an embarrassingly high-pitched tone, wildly looking around.

The guy's eyes widened in alarm and he raised in hand as if to show he was harmless. “No!”, he boomed sternly. “The drink my friend gave you was very strong. Your friend left with some guy and you didn't remember your address so I brought you here”. He explained. My anxiety eased a little bit. I will kill Serena though. She probably thought her leaving would lead to a hot night for me. Aarghh.

My gaze fell on the cardboard box lying on its side beside the coffee table, books spilling out of it. A man who reads. Always a good sign.

He probably noticed where I was looking because he said, “I just moved here yesterday”. His deep baritone was delicious. I might have shivered a little. 

I did a sweep of his apartment again. Something nagging at the back of my mind. 

“I wouldn't have guessed you just moved. The place is immaculate.”, I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, avoiding eye contact. 

“The moving company did all the work”, he let me know and I nodded in response and then we both fell silent. The tension was so thick in the air that you could probably cut through it with a butter knife. 

“I should probably go”

“Would you like breakfast?”

We both blurted at the same time. I blushed. For no reason at all. He was just being polite after all. 

“Thank you, but no. I should go”, I gave him a small smile and made my way towards the door.

I found my boots near the door, one standing upright and one on its side. As I struggled with putting them on while standing up because  I did NOT want to go sit on his couch and lengthen our painful encounter, his voice drifted towards me. 

“Liz? You forgot your purse”, he walked over towards me holding my tiny sparkly clutch. It looked ridiculous in his large hands. I had the mad urge to giggle. I tamped it down though. 

Then something that he said clicked. 

Liz. 

Well, looks like I had enough of working brain cells to not give out my real name to strangers.

Phew.

Giving him a closed-lipped, apologetic smile I took my clutch from him. 

Our fingers might have brushed a little bit. 

There might have been a little zinging sensation too. 

I might have felt a little faint as our eyes connected for a brief moment. 

I quickly turned away and made my way towards the door. My cheeks were burning so hot, it was surprising they hadn’t caught fire yet. 

As I stepped out to the hallway outside his apartment, I stopped dead in my tracks. I looked right, then left. My eyes went wide. I finally understood what that nagging feeling was from earlier. 

I looked behind me to see that he had followed. 

His expression was one of alarm. 

Probably at my wide-eyed look. 

“Oh my God!” I whispered.